Lawmakers fight to keep F-35 funded

Texans among new caucus' members who have received Lockheed money.

By T.W. Farnam, Washington Post

Updated 6:35 pm, Friday, November 25, 2011

Photo: COURTESY PHOTO

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The Joint Strike Fighter is shown taking off on its first flight in Fort Worth five years ago. The Congressional Joint Strike Fighter Caucus has been formed in an attempt to protect funding of the F-35 stealth plane.

The Joint Strike Fighter is shown taking off on its first flight in Fort Worth five years ago. The Congressional Joint Strike Fighter Caucus has been formed in an attempt to protect funding of the F-35 stealth

WASHINGTON — Even before the congressional supercommittee failed to reach a deal averting drastic cuts to defense spending, one group of lawmakers began mobilizing to protect a favorite weapons program.

The company's political action committee and its employees have given the caucus members $1.3 million in political contributions over their careers, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Granger, whose district includes the main Lockheed airplane-assembly plant, which employs 15,000, has received $210,000 from the company's PAC and employees. That includes $33,500 so far this year.

The work of the Joint Strike Fighter Caucus has recently, in the wake of the supercommittee's failure, become more pressured.

Created by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans as part of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling this summer, the supercommittee was charged with finding $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade.

Since the 12 members failed to reach a compromise, the terms of the deal force an across-the-board cut of $1.2 trillion, with half coming from defense programs.

Spokesmen for Granger and Dicks did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

In a statement announcing the formation of the caucus, the lawmakers said their goal was to provide “accurate and timely information on the development, testing, and deployment of our next-generation fighter.”

Other top recipients of Lockheed money include Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., the former appropriations chairman, who has received $144,250, and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, who also represents part of Fort Worth and has received $129,950.

Lockheed spokesman Tom Casey said the company's PAC supports lawmakers for a wide variety of reasons.

“Lockheed Martin supports a wide range of political leaders based on their level of interest and commitment in national security, homeland security, and other issues of importance to the corporation, including education and technology,” Casey said.

Cuts to the plane's funding have already been floated as a possibility if Congress doesn't amend its previous agreement. In a letter to lawmakers last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta raised the specter of terminating the program entirely.

A more likely scenario is reducing the number of planes purchased, or scrapping one of the three designs the government has commissioned. A Navy version of the plane is designed for aircraft carriers and a Marine version can take off and land vertically, adding to the cost.

Panetta can help control which programs get cut if he submits a smaller budget, but Congress has the final say.

The automatic spending cuts must begin in 2013, making weapons systems a more likely target than other areas of spending, such as closing bases, which could take longer to result in significant savings.

The F-35 program has been beset by cost overruns, raising the ire of some in Congress. Originally expected to cost $233 billion to design and build 2,866 planes, the program is now budgeted at $385 billion for a smaller fleet. Once maintenance and operating costs are included, estimates climb to $1 trillion.